Tangled Pathways

Some pathways might present a way, but then as you explore them, what you find is dark and tangled.  There is something in your way, or the pathway itself may lead to no where!  That is frustrating!  All that time and effort spent, and for what? 

WHAT?! I CANNOT HAVE IT NOW?

We live in a microwave society!  We want instant gratification.  We want it now!  We have thoughts that suggest we deserve to have what we want right now!  You can buy all you want with credit cards!  You can buy a house with a very small down payment; and even refinance after a while to get money to pay for more goods. You can buy a car on the installment plan.  This pathway seems great —- until your credit is exhausted, the creditors are calling your phone night and day, your car is being repossessed and your house is under foreclosure! 

HITTING BOTTOM

Coming face to face with the dark end of the pathway is called hitting the bottom.  You hear this term applied to other people:  those who drink too much, who use illegal drugs, or who gamble their lives away.  Now, you are seeing that you too, have entered the black hole of  “Now, I don’t know what to do!!!  Help me!” 

But the financial institutions, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa have their own responsibilities to address.  You want them to come and clear your pathway?  Why would they do that?  This is your path, not their path. You are the one who has the great learning ahead of you. 

MAKE AN INVENTORY OF YOUR CHOICES 

This becomes a time of reflection and self-inventory.  Here are some tools to help clear away the thicket that is hiding your pathway: 

Honesty:  Quit lying to yourself, and look at your choices (and excuses) clearly.  Honesty is the pathway to integrity. A person with integrity can carve right thought the tangle on the path.  They make different choices. 

Courage:  Have the courage to identify where your accountability lies and where you have responsibilities.  Tackle each, one by one.  There will be scary nights and even hungry days while you sit on your pathway. You may not think you should have to be courageous. You may think that someone else should do it for you.  Well, they won’t. 

Willingness:  In the past your willingness has been to satisfy your immediate need.  You have been unwilling to accommodate the needs of others. You have put yourself in the center of the world, and even have thought yourself to be godlike!  Newsbreak!  The Creator gave you everything you need to be happy and to be successful. It is up to you to learn what that path looks like. It is up to you to learn to see where the boundaries are.  Your willingness to drop the façade you have been portraying to impress others, and look at your role in the Creator’s world—not in your world, will be an important decision to make. 

Forgiveness:  So you made a mistake. Begin with forgiveness.  Be aware of your role in getting yourself to this point along the path.  Recognize what needs to be done differently, and begin to do different things, relate to people differently (they are not here to serve you).  Maybe it is time for a change!  Now is the best time to begin a new life and work your way through the tangle in the path. Get up, brush yourself off and start pulling out the weeds in your path!